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 Post subject: Off Message Minsters
PostPosted: Sat May 21, 2011 4:37 am 
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13480971

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 Post subject: Re: Off Message Minsters
PostPosted: Sat May 21, 2011 6:59 am 
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Is he repositioning himself? There are rumours of him defecting...
I wouldn't put it past the opportunistic old bastard.


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 Post subject: Re: Off Message Minsters
PostPosted: Sat May 21, 2011 2:01 pm 
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Malcolm Armsteen wrote:
Is he repositioning himself? There are rumours of him defecting...
I wouldn't put it past the opportunistic old bastard.


Where are these rumours coming from Malcolm? I've heard speculation from some journos but nothing from anyone who might be described as an insider. Has something new come out?

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 Post subject: Re: Off Message Minsters
PostPosted: Sat May 21, 2011 4:24 pm 
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All journalists, just tossing off I suspect. I'm sure Labour would take him, but he'd never be a minister again, and he is a very, very vain man.


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 Post subject: Re: Off Message Minsters
PostPosted: Sat May 21, 2011 4:38 pm 
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He needs to get through the next election. Would any Labour voter vote for him? I wouldn't.

Still, I suppose he has time before the next election to look for some lucrative contracts.

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 Post subject: Re: Off Message Minsters
PostPosted: Sat May 21, 2011 6:17 pm 
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Nah - I really don't think that Cable would (or more to the point, credibly could) come back to Labour now ( remember he's been a Labour member before).

Those bridges are well and truly burned.

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 Post subject: Re: Off Message Minsters
PostPosted: Sat May 21, 2011 6:44 pm 
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But he was SDP as well.

Twitter rumour that two Lib Dem councillors in Huhne's constituency have made statements that he made 'a false declaration' - no idea what that entails yet.


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 Post subject: Re: Off Message Minsters
PostPosted: Sat May 21, 2011 8:20 pm 
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It's now made the Mail - it's claimed he spent more than the legal limit on his election expenses.
Story here
But to be honest it looks contrived.


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 Post subject: Re: Off Message Minsters
PostPosted: Sat May 21, 2011 9:40 pm 
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Cable is 68.

He's likely to go into punditry after the next election, isn't he? He'd be good at that.

Labour shouldn't touch him for his trashing of the Working Time Directive.


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 Post subject: Re: Off Message Minsters
PostPosted: Sat May 21, 2011 10:36 pm 
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If anyone wants to broaden this to "off message ministers" from history, I think Francis Pym takes a bit of beating for saying he hoped his party didn't win too big a majority at the 1983 election.

He was sacked.


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 Post subject: Re: Off Message Minsters
PostPosted: Sat May 21, 2011 10:47 pm 
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Malcolm Armsteen wrote:
It's now made the Mail - it's claimed he spent more than the legal limit on his election expenses.
Story here
But to be honest it looks contrived.


Malc, you probably know that nearly every serious candidate in any election will always spend more on their campaign than the official limit - the trick is in manipulating your expenses return so that it comes in under the limit (regardless of what you've actually spent) - a trick that all party agents, and candidates too, are very well versed in (I speak as a Labour election agent of many years' experience).

Chris Huhne will be very relaxed about this latest attack on him, as I'd be surprised if his accusers have anything concrete . Seems very, very contrived. Huhne should, however, be concerned about the number of his party colleagues that seem to be out to stitch him right up.

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 Post subject: Re: Off Message Minsters
PostPosted: Sun May 22, 2011 1:55 am 
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There was a list of 5 Lib Dems that might defect, I think the conclusion was that they would all go independent. I think Andrew George will go Independent in St Ives at some point depending on how bad the coalition gets for him and his area. John Pugh another former MP of mine has rebelled quite a bit but has always carried the nickname "The not very Liberal" Mp for Southport.


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 Post subject: Re: Off Message Minsters
PostPosted: Sun May 22, 2011 6:08 am 
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Abernathy wrote:

Malc, you probably know that nearly every serious candidate in any election will always spend more on their campaign than the official limit - the trick is in manipulating your expenses return so that it comes in under the limit (regardless of what you've actually spent) - a trick that all party agents, and candidates too, are very well versed in (I speak as a Labour election agent of many years' experience).



As in Zac Goldsmith, which is why I say contrived. But it is striking how far someone (Clegg is my bet - it's hard to see who else benefits) is going to sic him. Today he seems to be changing his story on the speeding offence.


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 Post subject: Re: Off Message Minsters
PostPosted: Sun May 22, 2011 12:04 pm 
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I don't know if Labour would want many of the Lib Dems. So I agree with mattomac, that we might see an independent or two.

That's career suicide (except for perhaps Charles Kennedy), so maybe only old MPs to do that. Ming Campbell?


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